State vs Private at Cambridge - admissions question on school activities

[Mapletreelane]

DS1 ( non selective state school but in a leafy green suburb) is looking to apply for Computer Science at Cambridge next year ( Y12 currently) . He is researching his application and compiling all his super curricular achievements but has noted that private school kids are far more likely to have competed in maths challenges and olympiads - his school offered Bebras one year in Y7 and that is about it - his school have never entered anything else. Do the admissions teams take that into account, that his peers at private and grammar school will have taken part in so many more events that state schools tend not to enter? He is getting quite worried about it. TIA

You need a device to code with first. At DN’s state school most pupils have no access to a laptop and use mobile phones. Yet Google Colab (that allows you to code on phones) was not thought of. There’s also the matter that the best computing / stem talent doesn’t enter teaching at all.

You need a device to code with first. At DN’s state school most pupils have no access to a laptop and use mobile phones. Yet Google Colab (that allows you to code on phones) was not thought of. There’s also the matter that the best computing / stem talent doesn’t enter teaching at all.

The latter point is (to some extent) maybe not so important in the context of 'motivated self-starters'. Apart from phones, a pretty cheap option that allows coding in Python is the raspberry pi - maybe more appropriate than a laptop?
I don't think they need to be doing anything remotely cutting edge or requiring major compute power! Working out how to do something with basic kit can be more challenging and might demonstrate more genuine engagement iyswim.

Raspberry Pi is hardware lol. It’s good for people who want to build a computer and use low level code but not as good for high level coders — which is where most disadvantaged kids need to start as it has less overheads to learn.

It also costs £100 in the UK which is the same cost as entry level notebooks. If a parent can’t afford a notebook for their children they definitely wouldn’t be able to afford a Pi.

This is partly why India produces so many coders - teachers embrace change, involve parents, and over there teachers aren’t afraid to use technology. Eg even Indian government schools where the poorest of the poor learn use mobile led IDEs to teach coding.

What extracurricular activities does Cambridge like to see for med?

Might be worth looking at this to help prepare for the TMUA amsp.org.uk/events/online-course-for-the-tmua/#events

There isn’t actually any need to know any coding languages, or to have written computer programs to get into Cambridge for computer science - it’s the mathematical/logical thinking behind programming, computer coding and other areas of computer science that they are really interested in. That’s why they want further maths if at all possible and focus on good maths grades, don’t insist on computer science A-level and don’t insist on proof of coding or computer programming experience (although basic knowledge of one programming language would certainly be useful). Supercurricular programming and coding experience are just evidence of interest, but so is a GCSE in computer science, background reading on what’s being done in the field, evidence of understanding of what the degree actually entails and why that interests the candidate (specifically at the universities being applied to, as different courses may have a different focus, and Cambridge even allows a separate Cambridge personal statement which can contain information specific to the degree applied to there). Candidates should definitely not give the impression they just want to do coding and that’s all they’re interested in.

I'm a former university counsellor at secondary schools and have placed students at Oxbridge. Has your child even gone online and in-person to visit and ask these questions b/c the universities will share a lot? At the end of the day, academics matters most and s/he should have done the requisite research on which college is most appropriate, his/her co-curricular and extracurricular activities. The activities, especially, extra-curricular are only an extension of this. Therefore, Olympiads and maths competitions will complement this if the student is applying for a course in Maths. I had an utterly poor (socio-economically) student who was brilliant and had participated in various activities related to astronomy. He wrote a personal statement in which he shared his passion for his intended course of study and made the relevant link in his activities to the course but the activities were not privileged types his parents could afford. He was conditionally accepted. One piece of advice that I got from tutors and those who recruited from Cambridge was that the academic piece was the most important aspect, conveying this in activities while great should not take away from his/her ability to perform well on the exams. Good luck and I hope this helps.